Rebirth
by FreeJayFly
Summary: One Shot. Being a guest of honour, Morty attends the Ho-Oh Ceremony. However, there's more than meets the eye when he meets a certain couple who have been chosen to portray the legendary birds Lugia and Ho-Oh.


"Ouch!" a female's voice rang out, ceasing anything that she and the person she was with were doing. The girl's foot had been stepped upon again in the midst of her and her partner's dance rehearsal for the ceremony that was to be going on that very evening. They had weeks of preparations for the event and had even been told about the history of Ecruteak from the elders of the city. However, as the time rolled close for the actual ceremony to be beginning, both boy and girl chosen to play out their respective roles of Ho-Oh and Lugia were growing nervous.

"Ah..." was all that escaped the boy's mouth, slight disappointment in it as he looked to the colourfully dressed girl. He had let go of her hand and took his arm from around her waist, stepping back and rubbing at the back of his neck in slight embarrassment of the whole situation that had just happened... _again_. His violet eyes traveled from facing his best friend to to the ground as he muttered, "... really sorry... didn't mean to do it again...."

Brushing her vibrantly coloured bangs of blue and green out of her face, the girl looked to her dark-haired peer and sighed, "it's nothing... I know that we're both really nervous about the whole thing since we're not even originally from Ecruteak in the first place...." She placed her hands on her hips and then turned her gaze away, looking to the elders that watched them with what seemed to be a mix of both amusement and worry. Amusement most likely for the fact that both of the teens were highly nervous; worry most likely -- no... not 'most likely' -- worry for the fact that the Ho-Oh Ceremony was a big event in Ecruteak, and if the teens' nervousness overrode their beings, they would most likely end up messing up on their acts.

"Well, it's not to worry so much, you two..." an aged voice rang out. A small woman that had earlier been introduced to the teens as an elder had walked up to them, a wrinkled smile upon her face in understanding of what the two teens were going through. The old woman turned her gaze back to the other elders that were in the room before clearing her throat and addressing the two teens once again, "perhaps... if you two were to take a break of what's going on and go out to enjoy yourselves. The both of you have been practicing your lines and acts all throughout the two weeks that you've been here in Ecruteak... I wouldn't think of that to be quite fair to you two since when you both came, you were chosen on a whim...."

The female teen's gaze turned to the woman and a smile found it's way upon her lips, "really? That would be great!" the girl's emerald gaze then turned to male teen, "what do you say about that, huh, J?"

The boy (only now known as 'J' for the time being) gave a shrug of his shoulders and gave a rather passive response, "I really don't mind one way or the other... it's up to you, I suppose."

"... You always say that, though..." the girl replied, giving a rather annoyed huff to the response that he had given her. Nearing him, she looked up to him and then folded her arms over her chest, "c'mon... there must be something that you at least want to be doing. There's no way that you are always 'fine' with the suggestions I make and the places I want to go to; so you know what? It's your turn to choose."

A look of irritation crossed over the boy's face for a moment and then he just gave a light sigh, not really wanting to argue with the girl. Raising a hand, he fiddled with his snakebite piercings that lined his lower lip and gave what is was he wanted to see or go to some thought before giving a smirk and then grabbing the girl's hand, starting to lead her down the stairs of the tower. He lazily rose a hand to the elders that stood there in the room and waved, not really saying goodbye, just dragging the colourfully dressed girl behind him as he had thought up of a place where it was that they could go.

"... This fails to answer my question... I really hope you recognize this..." the girl muttered as she and 'J' were headed down the stairs.

"Yeah, yeah..." the dark-haired boy replied, tossing his head slightly to get his medium length hair from obscuring his vision. His grip tightened on the girl's hand and as the duo got to the bottom step of the flight of stairs, he turned to her with a concerned look upon his face. She, in return, gave a rather quizzical look as she tilted her head, awaiting what it was that he was about to say to her.

"... You're really going to be alright tonight... right?"

"Why?"

"Dix... I know you're afraid of ghost-types... and the finale is going to be something that has them... it was explained to us when we were chosen for the roles," the boy said, furrowing his brow somewhat. There were just some things that were told and explained to them that he had taken far into consideration... and even though his peer was given the option to not take on the role, she had brushed it aside and said everything was going to be fine.

The teen boy had high doubts about that very thing, though.

"Listen, I can manage, I promise."

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Night had fallen, stars speckled the velveteen sky, lights danced among the paved walkways and streets and music rang throughout the air out in front of a large tower that loomed up overhead, the moon shining brightly behind it. His hazel eyes were set upon that moon for a majority of the night, despite his being there as a guest of honour. The festivities had been going on for a while now, and yet, the maiden that was chosen to play the part of the legendary bird, Ho-Oh, was no where to be seen. That wasn't surprising, though, for it wasn't her time to be making her appearance. On the other hand, though, it was him that was wondering who had been chosen to be portrayed as the maiden Ho-Oh. He was curious about it... perhaps because the person that was chosen was one that was said to have the traits of the magnificent bird herself.

Having traits of Ho-Oh herself... that was something that piqued his interest greatly. Him being the leader of Ecruteak City's gym... him being the guardian of the Tin Tower... him being Morty, the Mystic Seer of the Future. However... even as he held the title with a sense of pride intertwined with a sense of confidence in his abilities, he was still unable to see when it was that the mighty bird, itself, would be returning to the Tin Tower... or rather... the new one that had been built to replace the one that had burned down so many years ago. That there... was his longing, why he had decided to stay to be the protector of the tower, in hopes that one day he would get to see Ho-Oh for himself.

Turning his gaze downwards, Morty rose his hand and adjusted his light-blue headband, more or less debating whether or not to take it off. After all, it didn't exactly go with blue yukata that he donned for this event... but then there stood the fact that he didn't exactly care for his bangs hanging down and in front of his eyes -- it was a small pet peeve of his when he had his vision obscured by any kind of veiling. Grumbling almost inaudibly to himself, Morty decided to keep it on and leaned against the tree that was fairly close to the tower. It was distant enough to afford some privacy, but not so far from the event that he couldn't see what was going on.

"Look! There she is!" a child's voice rang out as she took her mother's hand and pointed forwards. Morty looked from the kid to a girl about his age walking out, her being in a dress that donned the golden colours that made up the sunset with some green thrown in in some areas. A light, golden mask partially covered her face; revealing her emerald green eyes from underneath, her mouth and chin exposed. Her dark hair was also pinned back with golden barrettes at either side. There was another hair decoration at the back, keeping her hair out of her face; this hair decoration had beads and orange, yellow, white and green frills hanging from it. In short, the girl that had been chosen to portray the legendary Ho-Oh was well picked, and Morty could see this golden aura that surrounded her. It was... nearly blinding.

She walked over to a pedestal and looked upon the crowd. Morty looked to her, his interest in her piqued only due to her radiant aura. However, he noticed that she looked over to him and that her gaze lingered for a while before she opened her mouth and had her voice chime out upon the silence that had ensued, "tonight we're gathered here to celebrate spring and the time it is that Ho-Oh shines down upon us all here in Ecruteak City. We are here to recognize and honour what gifts it is that Ho-Oh has bestowed upon us so so many years ago, and continues to have bloom every spring."

"There are many of us that patiently await the return of the majestic bird," with that, Morty saw her gaze slowly turn to him once again. Everyone that lived in Ecruteak City knew that it was a dream and goal of his to just see or meet with the great bird... but the gym leader had no such luck over the years that he had guarded the towers.

"Even though it does not return quite yet, at least it has the will to be giving us the the joys of the seasons every year. Our messenger from above, our guardian, our will..." with that, the people in the crowd near the pedestal repeated the last bit of what the maiden had said. Morty, himself, had muttered the phrase, not really feeling all that into the events this time around. He didn't just want to _celebrate_ the time that Ho-Oh used to watch over Ecruteak City... he wanted to just meet it. Nothing more, nothing less.

Watching as the girl turned and walked off the pedestal, Morty lifted his gaze to the moon once again and gave a slight sigh. If only... if only, if only, if only.... He wished that there was some way that he could actually see where it was that the bird was... perhaps so that he could leave Ecruteak City in hopes that he could actually go out and find it. But alas... Ho-Oh's own powers were so much more stronger that they blocked out Morty's abilities and left him at a total blank every time he tried to locate it. In a sense, Morty thought of it to be not quite fair. However... Morty gave thought to how it would be if he were Ho-Oh himself... there were things that he understood about it. He would not have wanted to have been hunted as he flew across the region, that was for sure.

There were just so many things that were mulling about in his head thanks to the festivities that were going on. It made him think more about why it was that Ho-Oh didn't return to the tower, even though it was rebuilt, anxiously awaiting it's glorious return. Sure, the other one had burned down... but even after then, it had come back only to resurrect the three legendary beasts that now guard the ruins; Raikou, Entei and Suicune.

It must have had it's own reasons for not returning, or perhaps it was waiting for something to justify it's return. There was still no surefire way to really find out... not with how the powers of Ho-Oh clouded his abilities.

"Excuse me."

Morty averted his gaze somewhat and caught the white, orange, yellow and green of the dress that maiden of the event had on. Raising his gaze, he took this moment to (sort of) admire the the layout of the outfit and the small details that made it up. From the golden plated hearts that resided at both where the belt was and near the collar to the golden bands that were hugging at her arms... and then finally to the golden mask that still covered her face.

... Did she not know that she didn't have to be wearing it any longer?

"You know... you may take that off if you wish," Morty said to the girl, motioning to the mask. He couldn't see the full expression on her face, but he had noticed that she gave a slight flinch after he had told her. Giving a somewhat amused look, the gym leader watched as the girl gingerly took the mask from her face and looked up at him with a smile. Now that Morty no longer had to guess what she looked like behind the mask, there were other things that he noticed about the girl... like how her light blue and green bangs were artfully hidden from view as she wore the mask and took on the role of the maiden Ho-Oh.

"Better?" she asked with a slight giggle. At that, Morty couldn't help but to have a very slight smile cross his lips at that, as her aura seemed to dance playfully when she giggled. There was something about it that made him feel a little more calmer and relaxed about the situations that were going on. What it was, he couldn't exactly put his finger on it, however, he placed his thoughts on it being connected with her radiant aura.

His thoughts weren't racing through his head like they previously were. Instead... most of them seemed to have come to a complete and abrupt stop. Come to think of it... he hadn't even noticed her presence till she had actually said something to him. That wasn't normal. It wasn't at all often that one could actually, stealthily approach Morty without him knowing that he was there.... And this girl definitely wasn't having stealth be one of her goals... that was for sure.

"Heh... much... I can at least know I'm talking to a person and not a mask," Morty replied, giving her a warm smile. The 'unnamed' maiden gave a light scowl and then quickly softened her look with a light laugh. It was good to know that she could at least handle a joke relatively well.

"Oh... I've yet to introduce myself," she gave another light laugh, "how rude of me.... My name is Dixie..." she looked down for a moment, the barrettes that had her hair coming loose. Morty took note of them, though refrained himself from doing much of anything about it. There was something that he heard in a heated quarrel at one point in time, 'a man who touches a girl's hair without permission is either arrogant or sleazy... or both', and he definitely didn't want to be getting someone who's role in this event was highly important mad at him for something that seemed to be what he saw to be a small issue.

"Well then, Dixie, it's a pleasure to meet you," the gym leader had responded to her, giving a slight bow of his head in respect. Smiling, Dixie bowed in return, a little more than Morty had, but there was a high amount of respect that the girl had for him -- despite this being their first meeting. It was something about the title he carried in Ecruteak, how people looked up to him and the fact that he was also the gym leader of the city that had parts to play in her acts of respect towards him.

"Oh no... really, the pleasure is all mine. I've heard so many great things about you," Dixie responded as she stood back up. She looked to Morty with a smile... hm... it seemed to be something that she carried quite often, that smile.... And she seemed to hide said smile well when having to go out for her part in the festivities. Perhaps a natural actor. At what it was that Dixie had said to him, Morty quirked a brow at her. Of course people would tell her about him... especially if this was what her role was in the Ho-Oh Ceremony event.

"Also..." Dixie brushed a stray lock of hair from her face and looked down, "I've also been taking up the gym challenges to get into the League.... I... would like it if I got to battle you some day after this ceremony..." she smiled back up at him, placing her hands together. Morty looked her over for a moment. He had lived by the 'you can't judge a book by it's cover' phrase for a while, and looking at Dixie and the fact that she was striving for badges for the League... well, that certainly was no different. She seemed to look like a delicate girl on the outside, but seeing that certain spark in her eyes, he found himself to be looking forward to a gym match with the girl.

"Dixie," a male's voice called out. Morty rose his gaze and Dixie turned to face the source of the voice. Before them stood a relatively tall teenager that also looked to be about both Dixie and Morty's age. Upon his head was a crest that held the decorations for the blue that Lugia had, and the clothes that he wore were those of the Ceremonial event's Lugia. A long white trench coat looking garment with multiple blue bands and decorations were upon it and he had dark blue jeans on that tucked up underneath white and blue leather boots.

It wasn't the clothes that Morty was looking at. It was the aura that surrounded this newcomer that was also apparently part of the ceremony later on during the night. It was a rather brilliant silver... in fact, with both he and Dixie standing side by side, it was almost blinding. The elders of the city had certainly done a good job this time around choosing who it would be that would be representing both Lugia and Ho-Oh for the ceremony.

"... is Morty. Morty, this is Jaxx," Dixie was already going through introductions as Morty was trying to get his bearings straight with just how their auras were so radiant. Closing his eyes and shaking his head some, Morty smiled at Jaxx and gave another slight bow of his head in respect, "it's very nice to be making your acquaintance, Jaxx."

"Likewise," was the only response that Jaxx had given in return before turning his head in Dixie's direction and placing a hand on her shoulder. The gym leader had taken note of how it seemed to be not just something to get her attention, but something that was also affectionate. Had these two already known each other before being called to be the ones to be the representations for both of the legendary birds? That would have been very convenient and quite the coincidence if that were the case. But alas, like the legendary bird he had been waiting for so long, both Dixie and Jaxx's minds were impenetrable... no matter how much it was that Morty focused on gathering that tiny bit of information from them.

"We're being summoned for the next event..." Jaxx said to Dixie. Her expression fell for a moment, then the smile returned. She gave a nod and then looked to Morty, "I guess I'll be seeing you later, Morty. It was nice to get a chance to talk with you," and with that, the Ho-Oh maiden bowed down before turning and following after Jaxx, raising the mask up and affixing it back upon her face so she could play out her role.

It was a short while that Morty remained where he was, his arms folded over his chest. After a while, his Gengar companion had appeared at his side, a lollipop in hand. Looking down to the Gengar, Morty gave a slight sigh as he spotted the sweet in his Pokémon's hand and then pushed himself from the tree that he was leaning on, going ahead and going to where it was that Jaxx and Dixie were to perform next. The event included the both of them... and if this even was like the ones that Morty had attended so many times before already, it was just the two of them dancing in harmony to express the both Lugia and Ho-Oh keeping the balance between Pokémon and human alike.

People made room for him without his asking, perhaps due to the fact that he was the gym leader of the city and was a well respected figure. He shrugged the thoughts off and saw the duo start to take the positions to begin their dance. It was (or rather, what Morty saw as) just a normal, elegant, well-practiced waltz. Even if that were the case, though, the fluid movements and the well done footwork that both Jaxx and Dixie exerted were something that left some people amazed as they continued on with this particular event.

The couple finished their performance with Jaxx dipping Dixie smoothly and holding the position to signal the end. Again, something that Morty had seen so many times before... it wasn't all that amazing to him... it was just how their auras entwined together and danced with one another that had captivated his interest. Morty's thoughts were also penetrated from that as clapping filled the air around him and both Jaxx and Dixie had returned to their normal positions, their chests heaving from what was most likely a mix of being nervous and how the dance had worn them out some.

There was time that was to take place between the end of this event and the final event that was to have the Mystic Seer of the Future along with the maiden Ho-Oh light the fire on top the Tin Tower. It was at this time that Morty had found himself to be talking more with Dixie and Jaxx about this event and the history that both the Burned and Tin towers had and how Ho-Oh used to come by as a messenger to the Burned Tower. There was the lengthy explanations about how a fire caused by other humans where were greedy for Ho-Oh's power had caused the bird to fly away, only retuning after some time to resurrect three guardians of the tower; Raikou, Entei and Suicune.

"... and it's said that the three of those legendary beasts roam the region to watch over humans and Pokémon, waiting till the one day that they can become one..." Morty finished, looking to Dixie. The girl seemed to be soaking the information up like a sponge, as the expression on her face pretty much said everything. A wide grin was there as Morty explained the history and it was her that asked more questions about the history of the towers.

It was quite amusing, really... she was the one who was chosen to represent Ho-Oh, and she seemed as if she didn't know much about the history in Ecruteak.

"Wow... so... have you ever gotten a chance to meet them? I mean, if they roam the region to watch over humans..." Dixie had started up, looking up to Morty. Jaxx, on the other hand, kept to himself, his hands drawn together as the trio sat upon the bench to be discussing these 'interesting facts' about the history and whatnot.

"Heh... actually, I've been fortunate enough to have seen the legendary beast, Suicune..." Morty replied.

"Wow! No way! That's so cool!" Dixie exclaimed, looking to him with a surprised expression. It was at that time some kids had approached Dixie and had tugged at the ceremonial dress that she donned to get her attention. She turned to face them and smiled a bit, "hey there, enjoying the ceremony so far?"

The kids nodded and then proceeded to asking her to partake in a game with them. Excusing herself for a moment, Dixie got up from the bench and followed after the kids, smiling down at them and talking with them. Both Jaxx and Morty looked after her and then Jaxx turned his gaze back to Morty for a moment before looking away once again.

Several moments passed, and awkwardness lingered in the air as both Jaxx and Morty continued to have themselves stationed at the bench.

"So... you two seem awfully close..." Morty started after a few more moments of enduring that awkward silence, looking out to the people that had proceeded to enjoying the rest of the festivities before the final event. Jaxx didn't raise his head or even glance in his direction, though rose his hand to beneath his lower lip, rubbing there lightly before answering, "yeah... you can say that, I suppose."

"Heh... that's fortunate. At least you two have more common ground with one another than the other representations that I've seen over the past years that I've been attending this particular event." Morty turned his gaze downwards. It was true, and he could sense the previous representations' emotions as nervousness and mixed uncertainty had sometimes overridden their capabilities, making their acts... well... rather sloppy, to say the least.

Jaxx nodded, "we've known each other for about seven or eight years now... so..." he gave a shrug of his shoulders, leaving the sentence hanging in the air. The gym leader didn't bother to pick up where Jaxx had stopped, though looked back out to the people, seeing the many different and happy auras that surrounded them. It was something to marvel at sometimes... luckily, during an event like this, it was definitely something rewarding when getting a chance to view it.

"Morty..." a voice said. Both Morty and Jaxx rose their gaze to look up. An elder stood before them and peered down at the blond. knowing what was to come next, Morty stood up and started to make his way towards the Tin Tower. After a few paces forwards, Morty paused and turned towards Jaxx, "Jaxx... you're going to have to find Dixie quickly, as the final event is soon to take place...."

"What's this about me?" Dixie's familiar voice rang out. Morty turned towards her and noticed that there was another city elder with her. Smiling down at her, the elder motioned the girl towards Morty and the two of them followed after one of the elders as he led the way to the Tin Tower. Morty saw Dixie take in a deep breath and exhale calmly -- he didn't even need to try and use his ability on her to know what emotion was starting to show itself.

However... his interpretations couldn't have been more wrong one what it was that he saw Dixie's emotions to be. As it stood, the girl's heart pounded like a jackhammer in her chest, her thoughts racing as she wished for the night to just end now. She didn't want to be going up there... not up to the roof of the Tin Tower for the finale.... Anything but that. It was a mix of fear and anxiety that coursed through her being as she tried to calm herself walking alongside Morty and behind one of the male elders of the city.

Reaching the Tin Tower after about five minutes of walking, both Morty and Dixie made their way inside and up flights of stairs till they had reached the roof of the tower. Normally, the roof was a place forbidden to others because of how one could easily fall, but thanks to preparations in the event, the roof was made to support the event that was soon to take place.

Same old stuff, different year.

As he stepped up onto the high platform along with Dixie at his side, the people below watched up in anticipation of what was to happen. What was going to happen was something that often led people into a state of awe. This ceremony was coming to a close and the ghost Pokémon within the tower could feel that as well, their auras dancing around wildly underneath them. It was something that Morty could feel from his ghost companions.

Looking to Dixie for a moment, Morty nodded his head and the girl stepped forwards with the flaming torch that had been lit earlier. She neared the basin and rose the torch above her head for all to see and then threw it into the basin, flames erupting up and licking at the air. Pops and hisses could be heard from the wood as it caught fire and then smoldered. The main fire being lit not only signified the closing of the ceremony, but the ghosts' appearance as well.

Multitudes of Gastly, Haunter and Gengar burst soundlessly into the air, their auras being exerted to be seen by the human eye so that they produced of a light show more than an eerie surprise.

However... _more_ than a surprise were just exactly what they were when Morty turned his head in Dixie's direction after he had heard her scream. She had her hands up and clutching at the golden, faceted heart that was at the collar of the ceremonial dress that she was to wear for the event. Morty neared her as she looked to be backing up more and more. The golden mask had slipped from her face and landed on the platform that they stood upon with a clang and then slid off, eventually to hit the ground so many feet below.

One of the people from below that had actually reacted to what was going on was Jaxx. As his eyes caught sight of what was going on, he had immediately gotten up from his sitting position and raced towards the Tin Tower, giving little to no regard for the people that he had to move out of his way to be getting to the tower quicker. He had to mentally curse at Dixie for saying that everything would be A-OK when she most likely knew that they wouldn't have been.

The ghosts soon exerted their last act of replicating the tower burning so many years before and that's when things started to wind up. Again, Dixie had screamed, backing up more and having her her foot come close to the edge. Starting to panic somewhat, Morty rushed forwards while saying, "Dixie, it's only an illusion, there's nothing to be afraid o-- Dixie!"

It seemed that as he was trying to explain what was going on to her, it was too late. Her footing had slipped and Morty darted forwards, grabbing a hold of her hand that was still outstretched and then pulled her back onto the platform. However, as Morty had pulled her back, to assure her footing back on the platform, he had pivoted his body in such a way that had basically dragged Dixie back onto the platform, though made it to where his body weight shifted greatly over the edge.... Due to this action, it was now him falling to the ground... falling to the cold, hard cement that lined the area around the tower. He could see Dixie's scared and shocked expression as she looked over the ledge of the platform that they had been upon on top of the tower. He could see her mouth moving, but he couldn't hear the words... he knew that there were people watching... he knew that the ghosts' illusions were starting to fade and that they, too, were in shock as to what was going on.

All Morty could hear was his heart beating... but oddly... it was calm.

Many people below had gasped or screamed out as they saw Morty descend to the ground, all of them as helpless as any last one of them could have gotten. The ghost Pokémon, on the other hand, had reacted, however, due to their previous acts that had helped with the ceremony, none of them were fast enough to go over and cushion the gym leader's fall. As much as they wanted to, as much as they desperately rushed to the scene to try and do so... it was just too late.

_'I'm sorry I couldn't live long enough to meet you... friend...'_ Morty thought, closing his eyes as he fell the rest of the way down. There went his hopes and dreams of living and getting that rare chance to meet Ho-Oh.

It happened quickly, the impact did. For only a split second, it felt as if all of him had been shot through with thousands of knives... and then...? Nothing. It was nothingness that surrounded him... just dark... black... nothingness... everywhere he looked. Pitch black, not a single light to be seen. All of a sudden, it turned real cold and Morty found himself to be soaring above the crowd that now surrounded his motionless body. What it was that caught his eye was the two blinding auras that were making their way down to his body after a short amount of time.

One emanating a brilliant gold, the other shining a blinding silver.

It was both Dixie and Jaxx... the two that had been chosen as representations as Ho-Oh and Lugia. There was something different about him looking at them now... now that he was he perceived to be a spirit. Their figures -- the auras', that is -- looked to have actually taken shape over the bodies of the two teens. It was quite remarkable... and yet... there was nothing that Morty could do besides watch.

Hovering closer, Morty saw the slight smile that was still painted upon his lips... the slight smile he gave as he mentally apologized to Ho-Oh for not sticking around longer. The ghost Pokémon, however, weren't hanging around his body, but were instead around his ghost-self. He smiled at them... they were and had been his friends for a very long time after all.

After a couple of minutes, all the ghosts disappeared and Morty looked around in confusion. What exactly was to be going on now? Perhaps it was him being summoned to soon move on to the afterlife...? That must've been it....

However, his thoughts weren't met as a golden figure manifested before him, slowly taking shape. As it came more and more into being, Morty's eyes widened and his mouth fell open somewhat. Even in death, he could not believe what it was that he was seeing at that very point and time. The golden light had manifested itself to taking the shape of Ho-Oh. The sight of the bird was so magnificent... perhaps death really was worth this. He had been waiting so long, and now, as a ghost, the legendary bird had appeared before him in spirit.

"Ho-Oh..." Morty started, staying in place, looking to the bird in awe, "I had waited my whole life to finally get a chance to meet you...."

"And I to you, Mystic Seer of the Future." Ho-Oh replied, bowing his head to Morty and closing his eyes. There wasn't much that the legendary bird had to say... like he was in the olden days, he was just a messenger and a protector. Though he was not in time for his duty as a protector, he came to Morty more of a messenger.

"... But why in death?" Morty asked, keeping his gaze to the rainbow bird. After his question had been asked, a light chuckling was heard through his mind and then the words came from Ho-Oh once again, "there are many things that we learn in both life and death, Seer... this you should know well."

"Are you implying that I have something to learn being... dead?"

"That I am..." the bird's eyes closed and then the words rang out again, "you see... there's something that many humans cannot come to understand. However..." Ho-Oh opened his eyes to look to Morty, "as you know... I have been able to travel the lands... I have been able to see many different humans and different Pokémon." With that, Ho-Oh's head turned in the direction of Dixie and Jaxx.

"Look to the girl..." Ho-Oh's words rang through Morty's head as he looked up into the burning amber eyes. Morty did as he was instructed and saw Dixie racing through the crowd, pushing herself to get to his body quickly. He continued to watch her and then saw her fall to her knees beside him and raise his upper half and then embrace it. Continuing to be looking down, Morty saw that the girl's aura had died down from it's blinding golden one, to a soft light blue one. The golden aura, itself, had instead enveloped Morty's body. As his hazel eyes scanned what was going on, he started to have feeling in his limbs once again and then looked to Ho-Oh once more.

"Both boy and girl... they're quite marvelous specimens of your race.... You should see their bond with their Pokémon companions..." a chuckling rang though Morty's head once again as Ho-Oh had finished his sentence.

Giving a strong exhale, Ho-Oh's gaze seemed to soften, "but you see, it's these two that The Guardian of the Sea and I have both come to entrusting an essence of ourselves within. It's amazing to see how pure of heart these two are... how they react towards Pokémon and are able to coop and work with their companions in near perfect synchronization."

"... Because of what you had bestowed in her... it's--" Morty started before Ho-Oh's words ceased his talking.

"That's right... because of the small bit of myself that I had imbued in this girl..." he closed his eyes, "her emotions and her desire to want you to be living has triggered the small amount of me in her and is allowing for you to have a second chance, should you choose to accept it."

A slightly amused smile made it's way across Morty's mouth as he looked down to his body being embraced by Dixie. He looked back up to Ho-Oh and made a response, "I doubt that she's going to be giving me a choice," he looked back down, "besides... I made somewhat of a promise that I'd be seeing her in battle sometime after the ceremony."

"Still able to carry your original attitude even in death? Admirable..." Ho-Oh replied, it's image vanishing from sight and Morty's senses coming back at full force. He hadn't even noticed his soul returning to his shell of a body... not until there was that thump of his heartbeat that jolted his being back into functioning. He had gasped out for air and heard the surprised voices of amazement, happiness and sadness fill his ears and well as felt Dixie's arms around him and heard her choked sobbing. There was a spot on his shirt that was wet from where her tears had fallen.

There was another thing that confused him rather greatly. It was the fact that even after that near ten story fall, the gym leader didn't seem to feel any pain within his being. He gave thought to that for a split second, coming to the conclusion that it was like how when Ho-Oh revived Raikou, Entei and Suicune, they had come back without so much as a scratch -- good as new. In this case, Morty had actually witnessed the aura wrap around his body... that's when it more than likely came to made his body back to being the way it was before it had come into contact with the ground.

The shaky intake of air from Dixie was what it was that had brought Morty back from his thoughts.

Heh...

"Dixie..." Morty said to her, looking up. Dixie pulled away from him, her eyes and cheeks stained with tears -- however, her face also held a very shocked expression upon it, like she couldn't believe what was going on.

She couldn't be blamed. That was a killing fall after all.

"H-how...?" was all that Dixie could manage to have escape her lips as she looked down at Morty.

The gym leader gave a smile and then looked up to the moon once again, this time noting the lunar rainbow that circled it. His smile grew a little and tears stung his eyes. Closing them, he gave his response, "let's just say... I had a run-in with a Ho-Oh...." He opened his eyes and looked straight at Dixie, "thank you."

"'Thank you'?" Dixie repeated, sobs starting to get caught in her throat again, making her voice somewhat cracked, "'thank you'?! You're not the one who should be thanking me, I should be thanking you! You saved me from falling to my death, sacrificing yourself instead! You're thanking _me_?! You're an idiot!"

Giving a light chuckle, Morty closed his eyes again, a single tear falling down his face. This was his rebirth.


End file.
